Apparently there are a number of Ford F-150 and Lincoln Mark LT Pickup Trucks that, at times, simply have had air bags deploy. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has received 269 deployment reports, with 98 injures, because of these sudden air bag explosions. This is a big deal considering that the F-150 in the top-selling vehicle in America.
How big a deal is this? It was big enough for Ford to notify 1.19 million owners of F-150s from 2004 through 2006 model years. They are being told to bring their trucks to dealers. That includes 144,000 trucks recalled for the same reason in February. .
The Lincoln Mark LT 2006 model are also being recalled. These vehicles were not included in the earlier recall notification. The problem was fixed at Ford’s factories in January 2006, so trucks made after that date are not susceptible to it.
Next time you see an advertisement for one of these trucks ask yourself what happens when the air bag just goes off. Ford said its field data indicates that drivers have maintained control of their vehicles if the front side airbag deploys. I wouldn’t want to find out.
